My Master Cleanse Experience

Day 7 + 1

2008-09-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

I started today just having Acidopholous, vanilla yogurt and orange juice. I also had one vanilla wafer this morning, to see how my system would react to it. Then after lunch (of orange juice, yogurt and Acidopholous) I decided to try my luck with a hot dog, mashed potatoes and a little bit of cheddar cheese. Tonight we went to a friends house for dinner and I had my first regular dinner. I've had no problems at all today.

Day 7

2008-09-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Things went great today, for the most part. The cayenne capsules make for a much better experience. The salt water nauseated me a bit this morning, which was unusual. The effect was spread throughout the day, but until about noon (I drank the salt water around 6:30). However, about the only thing coming out of me is the lemon and maple now.

But other than that, I've been feeling great all day. The lemonade tastes much better (although I still prefer it with ice).

Then after my lemonade dinner, I started have some pretty bad cramps. It could be a lot of things. It could be from switching to cayenne capsules. It could be that the last of the gunk in my intestine is finally coming out. It could be something I could not even conceive of. So I have decided to start transitioning off the lemonade diet. I took two Acidopholous, a tablespoon of vanilla yogurt and a glass of orange juice. After about half an hour the cramps went away.

I'm kind of sad to be stopping just shy of the ten days, but when things were going so well and to have such a dramatic change in symptoms without a clear explanation, I didn't want to take a chance.

So tomorrow I'm going to be on orange juice, yogurt and continue with the "lemonade" and cayenne capsules. We'll see how it goes.

Day 6

2008-09-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, my average weight during the first 5 days is 175, down 4 pounds from 179. However, I've seen a pretty stead weight loss of about a pound a day. I expect to gain a lot of it back when I start consuming food again. At this rate, I'll be under 170 when I start coming off the lemonade. If I can change my eating habits, I hope to maintain 175.

My stomach cannot hold as much as it used to. I used to be able to drink the 32 oz of salt water and then down a 12 oz lemonade. Now I can do one or the other, but not both. I have to wait a little bit.

I feel like I have a bit more energy today than yesterday. I also had a bit more lemonade than previously.

A co-worker had a great suggestion that may change the name of my blog (Lemon Fire Water). You can get cayenne capsules. I just made a batch of lemonade sludge without cayenne and will try taking the capsules with it. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.

The salt-water drink has not had as big an impact as it did early on. Today I started using 3 teaspoons of salt in 32 oz of water. That seemed to help a little. I'm going to stick with 3 tomorrow, but I may up it to 4 teaspoons on Saturday morning.

Day 5

2008-09-03T16:56:00.001-07:00

Halfway through. My weight loss has slowed a bit. This morning I had lost just under a pound. I'll post tomorrow what my 5 day average weight is.

We've had some interesting discussions about the "lemonade cleanse" at work. One co-worker who has been on it before suggested taking Acidopholous supplements when I start coming off the diet, start with OJ-Day.

Still feeling good. My energy level is down a bit. I really notice the pick-me-up when I take my lemonade.

Day 4

2008-09-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

First day of work went very well. I can only count on an hour between taking the salt-water drink and needing to be near a restroom. My energy started to drag at 11am and around 6pm, but I had my lunch and dinner of lemonade and I picked up shortly after that. I don't feel hungry, but I do feel something. Its hard to describe. I guess its the other sensations associated with hunger. It's not unpleasant, just I know my body wants food, I just can't hear it.

Still a little stiff and sore from the weekend. Muscles definitely don't recover very fast while on the lemonade.

Other than that, I feel great. I actually put in a 10 hour day today at work without blinking, not that that was enjoyable.

I keep looking forward to the solids I can eat. I need to start looking forward to the soft foods I'm going to be eating for a couple of days, like chicken broth soup and orange juice.

Day 3

2008-09-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today went wonderfully. I figure I'll take the salt water right before I leave to take the boys to school. I can wait an hour and a half at least before I need to use the restroom. There were no signs of the headaches of yesterday. I got out and trimmed trees, cleaned out gutters and even went swimming (swam a couple laps with two four year olds on my back). Overall, a great day.

I was curious about how many calories I am consuming each day. Here is what I came up with:

A half mix (which lasts me one day) contains:

6 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice	297 calories
3 oz grade B maple syrup	43 calories
Also taken per day
4 oz of MonaVie™	120 calories

Add it all up and you have about 460 calories. That's probably about 1/4th the calories I normally eat in a day. The amazing thing is that I am able to do so much. I do notice, however, that I now wake up with sore muscles the next day (something that I haven't experienced since I started taking MonaVie™). That is probably because I am not consuming any protein.

The complete lack of hunger is probably because of the cayenne pepper. I have read some articles indicating that cayenne pepper suppresses hunger. Its doing an amazing job if I'm only consuming about 460 calories a day and not feeling hungry. Cayenne pepper does not, however, reduce the desire for food that smells delicious. The rest of my family is enjoying pork chops, lasagna, etc. while I enjoy an ice cold glass of Lemon Fire Water.

I found that drinking the lemonade over ice and with a straw helps. Similar concept to the salt water drink. This way my lips are burning when I'm done.

They say if you can make it past day 3 you can make it all 10 days. Three days down and seven to go!

Day 2

2008-08-31T17:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a little tougher. This morning I was thinking "this is going to be a breeze." I had a mild headache in the morning, but it was nothing to get in the way of anything. But then after lunch I just curled up on the couch. I was a bit nauseous, had a splitting headache and had restless legs. While Jamie was preparing dinner, I almost caved but finally didn't. The smell of lasagna (dinner tonight for everyone else) actually made me feel better.

That reminds me. I have not felt hungry the whole time. Its a amazing. Yesterday I had four servings of the lemonade, and today only three. And no real hunger. I crave the flavor and texture of food, but I'm not hungry at all.

After my lemonade dinner and MonaVie™ dessert, I felt much better. I can still tell I have a headache, but it hardly bothers me at all.

I think this is increasing my sense of smell. Smells seem to be more rich and vibrant than they were before. I've started making a list of the foods I'm going to eat when I'm done. I started first by choosing a selection of soups, ending with tomato. Then after the liquids, I'm having another FreeBird burrito and a hamburger (although not necessarily at the same time).

The salt water went well this morning. I was all done within an hour and a half. Not quite what I was hoping for, since I usually take the boys to school about 45 minutes after I wake up. Either the time needs to go down, or I need to get up earlier.

Day 1

2008-08-30T16:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I actually feel pretty good. My salt-water drink went better than expected. I drank the salt-water, followed by 2 oz of MonaVie™. I then sipped some ice water. No problems.

The "lemonade" went ok. I wasn't hungry at all during the day. I had one for breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon and dinner. I may have another before bed. By dinner it was nice to have 2 oz of MonaVie™ for "dessert." I did have a FreeBird burrito last night after dinner and stuffed myself pretty good. That may have something to do with my lack of hunger today.

I'm also going to track my weight. The five days before I started my average weight was 179. We'll see how it looks half-way through, at the end and after I return to a normal diet.

Overall, a great day. No headaches. No desperate dashes to the restroom. A good day.

Now let's see how tomorrow goes ...

Starting in Two Days

2008-08-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting Saturday morning. My 64 oz. of Grade B Maple Syrup just arrived today. Tomorrow on my way home from work I'm going to pick up three 2 lb. bags of lemons. That should get me through until Monday at least. I'm going to make a day's worth of what I call "sludge", the lemon juice, maple syrup and Cayenne pepper. I have a 20 oz bottle to put it in. At most, a day's worth of "sludge" should be about 18 oz. I'll put about an ounce or two in a 16 oz water bottle and then fill it with water. That way I can take the "sludge" with me and just add water when I'm ready to partake.

The Top-Down Enima

2008-08-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

So I wouldn't be completely surprised, I decided to try the Salt Water Drink. I've heard you have to use 2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons (depending on what works for your body) in about 32 oz. of water. You have to drink it warm (which adds to the gag effect). I've heard that using a straw helps as well as chasing it with the "Lemon Fire Water."

So here is what I did. I got a 32 oz water bottle (with the thick straw in it), a 2 oz shot of MonaVie™ and an ice cold glass of water. I drank the salt water as fast as I could (three or four long gulps) and then followed it with the MonaVie™. I did feel a little nausea, but it wasn't bad at all. I then sipped the ice water (probably about 12 oz) until gone to help make sure everything was under control.

I've heard you need to stay close to home for the first hour after you drink the salt water. After half an hour, I was wondering if it was having any effect. After 45 minutes, all doubt was gone. I was "close to home" for about 30 minutes. Luckily it was about the time I was getting ready, so I was close to the facilities the whole time anyway. After that it was manageable. The last hurrah was about 2 hours after I drank the salt water.

So I'm figuring I need to take the salt water immediately after waking up (the worst time for nausea) so I am close to home for the next hour and fifteen minutes or so. I won't have as much food in me, so it may wrap up a lot sooner.

I just ordered the Grade B Maple Syrup (64 oz). This week I'll pick up a few bags of lemons and I'll be set.

I'll post again next weekend, after I start.

Links

2008-08-05T09:53:00.001-07:00

I'm finding some links (and being told about some from people who have gone through the clense):

http://mastercleansesecrets.com/blog/lose-10-pounds/how-to-quickly-lose-10-pounds-without-suffering/137/

http://mastercleansesecrets.com/detox.php

My First Taste

2008-08-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

I first heard about the Master Cleanse (or Lemon Detox) while listening to a CD of a talk about mastering self. I was more interested to see if I could endure the 10 days than the health reasons.

So I first went and priced all the ingredients at my local HEB. Here is what I came up with:

Per Serving

1 oz lemon juice (1 small lemon)
1/2 oz Grade B Maple Syrup
1/10 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
10 oz water

6 - 12 servings per day

6 - 12 oz lemon juice (6 - 12 small lemons)
3 - 6 oz Grade B Maple Syrup
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
60 - 120 oz water

10 days

60 - 120 oz lemon juice (60 - 120 small lemons)
30 - 60 oz Grade B Maple Syrup
5 - 10 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
600 - 1200 oz water

Total Cost

$15 - $30 lemons (60 - 120)
$36 - $72 Grade B Maple Syrup 3 - 6 12.7 oz bottles of Grade B Maple Syrup
$2 Cayenne
$2 Fine Ground Sea Salt (at least 20 tablespoons)

Total: $55 to $110

You can buy the Grade B Maple Syrup on Amazon.com for about $22/32 oz

Total with Grade B Maple Syrup from Amazon.com: $41 - $78

So I made my first glass, and now I know why they call it Fire Water. It doesn't taste all that bad, but my stomach did have a hard time with it. I was a little nauseous right away. So in addition to the headaches, nausea will be another thing to overcome.

As far as the laxative, I will be taking 2 oz MonaVie™ morning and night instead of the teas normally used. I will also be doing the "top-down-enima" salt drink every morning. You take 4 cups (32 oz, 1 quart) of lukewarm water with 2 teaspoons of the salt as fast as you can each morning. I hear it will come back up or out the other end within an hour.

I've heard first three days are the hardest, and if you can make it past that, it gets a lot easier. I plan on starting Friday morning before Labor Day. I may not start until Friday night, I'll have to see how it goes.

Update: I've found that 3 large lemons is about 8 oz. A 2 lb bag ($4.49) of lemons from HEB made about 18 oz of lemon juice. So a bag of lemons will last 1 to 3 days.

I also got a $10 electric juicer that is working great.

I also found a site that suggests taking Bentonite. I found 32 oz of Bentonite at Amazon.com for $10.

Another site to note

Make the salt water rinse work better